YouTube Stars!

Guest Blogger Emma Samuelson is back with an inspiring post that claims Perfection does not exist!

Emma is a singer-songwriter from California who writes her own songs, sings and plays guitar. Check out the excellent music and ASL videos on her YouTube channel! In Emma's own words, "I am a spiritual person and I love music, listening to it, creating it, and everything about it." Her love of music is obvious in her videos!

Please use this link to see a list of ALL guest blog posts by Emma Samuelson.

Now, Emma tells us about three popular videos that show how some individuals deal with being less than perfect in the eyes of much of society. Read Emma's excellent article, watch the great videos and remember the dream of Martin Luther King Jr - there will come a time when we do not simply look at someone's exterior features, but we will look inside and see "the content of their character."




Everyone has their own idea of what is “normal” or “beautiful” in the world. However, when it comes to physical appearance, society has a large impact on how we view people’s bodies and what constitutes a “perfect” one. We are constantly seeing images of models and celebrities that have rock hard abs, acne-free skin, and a size 2 waistline… but the truth of the matter is, every single human body that resides on this planet is unique in a certain way. Despite the fact that acceptance of others is a trend on the rise, people are still very quick to judge, assume and mock others for what they look like, their style, or even a disorder or disability they may have. Not only can disorders and disabilities make daily life more challenging, but with the dramatic attention received by others, whether it be mean-spirited or not, can cause low self-esteem in those living with that difference.

Cheri, who lives with Vitiligo, a skin pigment disorder, opens up and speaks out about her disorder and how she has moved past the “abnormality” of her appearance. Instead, Cheri challenges us to be confident and embrace our appearance as is in order to fully occupy a life worth living.



Looking further into how we categorize normalcy, a Swiss charity organization entitled Pro Infirmis has helped to raise more awareness around people living with disabilities, challenging the stereotypes that are often more crippling than the disabilities themselves. One project they conducted has received much global attention with the title: “Because Who is Perfect? Get Closer.” Five people living with disabilities were measured, and mannequins were then sculpted using those measurements. The results are very telling in regards to people’s reactions as well as reframing our idea of perfection.



Cassandra, another Dermablend Camo Confession subject, opens up about her acne and really shows how much others intolerance has affected how she saw herself. Just like Cheri, Cassandra emphasizes the importance of self-love and self-worth. One thing she does point out in particular is that she no longer uses make up to hide herself, but instead uses it as a tool of self expression, a perspective that is much more beneficial to one’s confidence.



Ultimately, physical appearance standards need to be challenged; just like a wild horse, stereotypes must be broken. Regardless of what you have said, done or thought in the past, the next time you see someone who looks different than you, send them love and give them a smile. Also, the next time you look at yourself in the mirror and find something you do not like or judge, send that area love to support and affirm your unique beauty. If you take one thing away from these videos, remember what Cassandra said: “A huge misconception in the world is that we think that perfection exists.”

Labels: acne, ASL, beauty, body image, disabilities, Emma Samuelson, emmalane94, exterior, inspiration, inspire, interior, perfect, perfection, self image, sign language, stereotypes, Vitiligo

posted by KennyCrane at 6/30/2014 04:09:00 AM 4 Comments

There are many videos on YouTube for and about Valentine's Day. Here's a link to a list of them. Find someone to love today and give them a hug, send them an email, IM them, or just leave a nice comment on one of their videos. We love all our readers; thanks for visiting YouTubeStars! :)

One piece of news, then we'll watch some videos. There is an interesting debut this week on the Weekly Top 100 Chart. No, I'm not talking about Barack Obama, although his BarackObamaDotCom channel did debut this week at number 86. I'm talking about MRirian, a young Japanese lady who often does very little in her videos - many times she doesn't even talk. Why is everyone watching and subscribing? Because Miss Magibon looks exactly like a real life Anime Character! She has huge eyes, a small pointed chin and an adorable smile. If you haven't seen her, follow the link above - or visit the Top 100 Chart and click on her, she's number 100 this week. See why she has over 23 Thousand subscribers and over One Million Profile views!

Now, here are a few videos that have nothing to do with Valentine's Day! Enjoy them anyway. :p


Who is Kina Grannis? Kina is a talented young singer/songwriter/guitarist who recently won a major contest with huge exposure! Here's the scoop from Kina's Profile:

Doritos Crash the SuperBowl WINNER!
www.twoweeksforkina.com
faqs:
- what ARE you??? half japanese :)
- what kind of guitar do you have? taylor 814-ce
- where are you from? orange county, ca
- how old are you? contrary to what you might think, i'm 22,
not 16 :)
- do you have any cds? yes, they can be purchased from
www.kinagrannis.com or on itunes!
- how can i contact you? *not* via youtube messaging,
preferably. it's gotten very backed up and it's hard for me to keep track of
messages on there. i do my best to respond, but it's difficult and slow. so this
is better: kina@kinagrannis.com
*OR* comment on my blog http://www.twoweeksforkina.com
/blog/index.html and i will try to respond in the next post!
if you're looking to buy some cds, you can find me on itunes
or order them from my website: http://www.kinagrannis.com

This video is a montage of clips from other videos, along with information about Kina and the Doritos Supper Bowl contest that she WON! Kina is beautiful but she is also smart and talented. Watch this video and meet Kina!



This is such a catchy tune! Kina sings the verses and harmonizes with her two sisters on the chorus. Warning! This song will be stuck in your head. Listen anyway, it's great!

We have added this post to Digg.com! Please click this link and Digg this!!! Thanks!



Okay, here's a video that has a little something to do with Valentine's Day. It's about beauty. Studies have shown that people are more likely to rate a face as beautiful if the person depicted has clear skin and symmetrical features. This is an indication to our subconscious brain that the person is healthy and would most likely be a good mate to raise a family with. If you use computer technology to morph together a bunch of real people's faces, you'll get an averaging of features which creates a composite with symmetrical features. People will most likely rate this composite as beautiful. Watch the video for more!



PeriUrban just keeps on making cool music videos! This one features Peri singinging his original song as he plays along on his acoustic guitar - but wait, there's more! Peri always sings and plays his guitar, but this time he added a very cool electric guitar track that adds a real rockin' kick to the tune. His singing is strong; it starts out mellow enough, but then Peri gets loud and raspy - driving home his point that the videomaking community is always changing as time goes by. Please keep checkng back here at YouTubeStars for the latest in what's going on in the YouTube community; thanks!

Labels: Anime, beauty, bowl, contest, Digg, doctorcastille, Doritos, kinagrannis, Magi, Magibon, MRirian, PeriUrban, super, superbowl

posted by KennyCrane at 2/14/2008 02:33:00 PM 0 Comments